NFC

ABN Amro to launch Forcefield — ABN Amro — “The platform can communicate with physical trade inventories through the Internet of Things, sensors and near field communication chips. As a result, the inventories, which are often collateral for loans, can be monitored very effectively, which will lead to more secure physical handling processes and a reduction of costs.”

Kenyan social enterprise Food for Education is speeding up the rollout of its Tap2Eat NFC cash replacement system for subsidised school meals following a successful pilot in three primary schools in Nairobi involving 150 students... More

NFC tags represent an “enormous growth opportunity” and are now “ready for the mainstream”, according to a new forecast by ABI Research which is available to download free of charge from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More

Familiarity with mobile payments could help to drive adoption of contactless cards in the US but could in turn move those that have already adopted mobile payments back to physical methods of payment, according to a new issue of Auriemma Research’s Mobile Pay Tracker... More

Brazilian transit operator MetroRio, which runs the Rio de Janeiro Metro, has begun the rollout of contactless payments in partnership with Visa, Banco do Brasil, Bradesco and Cielo, becoming the first transit operator in the world to use the new Visa Secure Access Module (SAM) technology as part of the project... More

Android Q won’t have Android Beam — Techradar — “Android Beam, the NFC sharing method where you put two phones back to back to transfer photos, videos, and other files, is nowhere to be found in the ongoing Android Q beta… At Google IO, we found out that it’s not coming back, either, according to the reps we talked to who are working on Android updates.”

Swiss FinTech brand Armillion has unveiled the ultimate in wearable technology: a contactless payment bracelet that’s decorated with 252 cut diamonds, costs more than £60,000 (US$78,362) and can be used for purchases of up to £1m (US$1.3m)... More

Insurance company Reliance General Insurance is using NFC tags on screens at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport to enable travellers to quickly and easily make a last-minute travel insurance purchase... More

The rollout of contactless cards in the US should have an overall positive influence on NFC mobile payments adoption in the US, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston — but both consumers and merchants have ongoing adoption issues that remain to be resolved... More

Standard Chartered has become the first bank in Singapore to offer customers the ability to use its mobile banking app to apply for loans and credit cards — and, if approved, have a digital version of their new credit card instantly provisioned to their Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay digital wallet so they can make payments... More

Belgian bank KBC has reported on the take-up of the non-banking services such as car parking and transit ticketing that it has been adding to its mobile banking app since launching it last summer... More

Marshall ID cards now available on iPhone and Apple Watch — Marshall University — “By simply placing their iPhone or Apple Watch near a reader where physical student IDs are accepted, users can enter residence halls and libraries, access dining plans, purchase food, buy items in the university bookstore or in vending machines, print documents and more.”

Oppo to test launch Oppo Pay in China — TechGenYZ — “Oppo will cooperate with China UnionPay to test and launch Oppo Pay. The company is trying to make contactless payments easy with the help of a transit card that is equipped with NFC in China.”

HBO Asia x SBTG Collab brings 4 ‘Game of Thrones’ sneakers to celebrate final season — Click The City — “Each pair of Game of Thrones x SBTG customized sneakers are embedded with near field communication (NFC) chips powered by VeChain, a public blockchain platform that allows any potential collector the ability to verify the authenticity of each pair through VeChainThor blockchain. The NFC chips also contain exclusive behind-the-scenes videos of each sneaker design which can be played and viewed by anyone using the VeChain mobile app.”